Telephones have been in use for almost one hundred fifty years, but personal telecommunications technology over the last twenty years has improved dramatically with the introduction of a mobile telephone, e.g., the cell phone. Today's mobile phones can receive and transmit voice calls and text messages. Mobile phones can also be used as GPS systems for guidance in navigation and for locating the position of a particular person. Most mobile phones have camera and video functions that can take and store photographs and videos. Further, mobile phones have the capability of accessing the Internet where a user can chat with family and friends, and download games, music, videos, and other desirable information and applications.
Some mobile phones have a very limited capability in a “hands-free” environment. Some mobile phone allow a user to dial a number by speaking the identity or number of a person the user is calling after the user first presses a particular button on the phone to enable or activate this feature. The name or number of person being called is played back to the user so the user can hear and verify the intended recipient, and then the telephone number is dialed and the call placed.
Some in the prior art have sought to allow “hands-free” access to a user's voice mail messaging system. By way of example, without intending to limit the present invention, U.S. Pat. No. 6,868,142, issued on Mar. 15, 2005 to Gupta et al., discloses a voice-operated interface for communicating with a voice mail messaging system. A speech recognition unit is utilized to retrieve certain voice commands (e.g., “next”, “skip”, “repeat”) and then translate the commands into a proper tone sequence which is transmitted to the voice mail messaging system. The voice mail messaging system then retrieves and transmits the voice mail to the user.
For those that are physically challenged, mobile phones have limited use. Those with hearing disabilities are limited to using the mobile phone for receiving and sending text messages and emailing, since they are unable to hear the voice calls or the voice mail messages. Those with visual disabilities, especially the elderly, can use the mobile phone for receiving voice messages but are physically hindered from utilizing, accessing and changing the other features of the mobile phone, including the texting features. They are unable to see the screen or the small messages or in many case the dial pad to use, select and/or change any of the functions on the mobile phone.
Texting while driving has been proven to be more dangerous than driving drunk. Many people have tragically been killed due to a driver who was distracted by texting while driving, and did not see that a traffic light was red or that they had swerved into another lane. Drivers who are texting are also less likely to see a stopped vehicle or other obstacle in their path, since their attention is focused on texting. Some states have outlawed drivers from texting, and the federal government is considering having a national band on texting while driving.
Therefore, what is needed is a method to allow hearing-impaired or sight-impaired or any telephony device user to initiate a communication or receive a communication in a format conducive to the sender's or receiver's need. Examples include a phone that receives a voice call or text communication, and automatically converts the incoming call to a format acceptable or needed by the receiver. What is also needed is a mobile phone that takes voice or text that is input by a mobile phone user and converts the user's input to either voice or text. What also is needed is a method for providing “hands-free” access to the different functions and features of the phone and the ability to change them, including GPS locator services, emergency help calls, camera and videos functions, and music, video and Internet functions.